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Box cutter replacement

This knife is intended to be a “shop knife” .. replacing an obscenely mundane “box cutter”. The young man for whom this is being made prefers a tanto grind. He's also the front man for a local heavy metal band. From there .. I believe .. comes the preference for the natural bone. The laminated blade steel is my idea. A high carbon center layer laminated between 16 layers either side of 420 series stainless.

I originally intended a solid one piece bolster of mahogany. What's pictured is a 5/8” thick slab of mahogany with a slot machined for the blade blank.

There were issues with this approach. The tang was as small as I was going to get it. i.e. it nested into a slot machined into the interior of the bone on the spine side of the blade while being sandwiched within a machined slot in the bone on the cutting edge side of the blade .. and was already ground to match those surfaces of the bone. When the slot in the mahogany was wide enough to slide over the tang .. it was also loose when placed in it's desired final resting spot.

I decided to make the bolster out of 2 individual mated pieces of mahogany. I'll both epoxy & pin the pieces in place for the final result.

I machined a mating slot in the individual pieces .. to a depth of half the thickness of the blade blank.

I carved the rest of the required cavity .. it was just easier .. to get an exact fit. The resulting tang of the blade blank had a curved narrow portion right at this point .. a leftover from a finger groove present in the original blade blank. This is what made it difficult .. for the “one piece” approach.

Once epoxied in place .. it formed a rather cumbersome > 1” thick cube.

I machined a choil in place.

And the beginning of a finger guard.

I machined away some of the excess mahogany .. it's easier than sanding & far less dusty.

It's beginning to take shape.

…............................................................

I'll try to document with some further “work in progress” pics.

I'll most certainly snap a pic of the finished project before it leaves the house & post that.

Dale

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ron Cooper on January 23, 2016 at 16:50

As "Box Cutters" go, I'd have to say that yours, Dale, would have to be right up there with the best of 'em. If not THE Best!

As purrty as that puppy is I might be tempted to wear it on a chain around my neck and call it jewelry! Bling Bling!

Great work, mate!

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on January 24, 2016 at 20:31

Just as a point of reference .. this is where I started.

Here is the finished version.

I managed to scratch the etched surface somewhere in the process .. used a cue-tip to apply some ferric chloride .. no more visible scratch !!

After sanding .. the exposed tang was shiny .. I applied just enough ferric chloride to bring out the hard high carbon center layer.

I introduced a small dip in the mahogany just prior to the grooves on the spine of the blade. It tends to guide the user's thumb onto those grooves. It ended up with a good & solid "feel" in hand.

I'm happy with the way it turned out.

It's a big step up from the extremely mundane box cutter currently in use.

I'm not a fan of the tanto grind .. Alec is.

I've asked Alec what the attraction was .. romantic ..or.. functional.

He acknowledged ..primarily.. the first. He also identified a functional aspect I'd overlooked.

It's like having a knife with 2 cutting tips.

The normal one @ the very tip ..&.. the other @ the convergence of the 2 sharpened edges.

One thing I've identified doing these projects.

As long as they're in-house .. they're never finished.

Always futzin with some aspect .. for that last little improvement.

I should be able to get it to Alec on Tuesday.

Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on January 25, 2016 at 13:35

I cannot wait to hear his response when he receives it! It is easy to tell it is a passion for you my friend, like Donnie I think you give away 90% of what you make to someone that will enjoy it

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on January 25, 2016 at 16:34

Indeed, Jan .. I do gift the vast majority of what I make.

For me .. the fun is in the process.

I include some new aspect in just about every project .. something I haven't tried before.

It's the learning I most enjoy.

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on January 26, 2016 at 6:23

I'd bet, Jan .. Donnie would give a similar response.

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on January 26, 2016 at 15:55

It was successfully delivered today.

..&..

Enthusiastically received !!